Jane Nelson, 115th Texas Secretary of State

AUSTIN — Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday officially appointed Jane Nelson to serve as the 115th Texas Secretary of State. 

“I am deeply honored to continue my career as a public servant as Texas Secretary of State, and am grateful for the confidence Gov. Abbott has placed in me to serve in this critical new role,” Nelson said. “As secretary of state, I hope to continue safeguarding the integrity of our state’s elections and enhance transparency so that all Texas voters can have confidence in fair, accurate elections across each of our 254 counties.”

Nelson added, “I also look forward to working with our many international partners — including our largest trading partner, Mexico — to enhance Texas’ position on the global stage and continue building our reputation as a global economic powerhouse.”

Nelson will be formally sworn in by Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht on Saturday.

Nelson enters her role after former Secretary of State John Scott announced in early December he was stepping down from the role. 

The Texas Secretary of State serves as the state’s chief election officer; provides a repository for official, business and commercial records; publishes rules and regulations; and commissions notaries public. In addition, the secretary serves as senior advisor and liaison to the governor for Texas Border and Mexican Affairs, and serves as chief international protocol officer for Texas.

The secretary is one of six state officials named by the Texas Constitution to form the Executive Department of the State. The first Secretary of the Republic of Texas was Stephen F. Austin.

Nelson is a businesswoman and former teacher who served two terms on the State Board of Education and 30 years as a state senator representing North Texas.

The first woman in Texas legislative history to chair a standing budget-writing committee, Nelson was chair of the Senate Finance Committee for four sessions. She was a member of the Senate State Affairs Committee, which oversees election policy, for eight sessions. She served as chair of the Sunset Advisory Commission, the Nominations Committee, the Select Committee on Cybersecurity and the Senate Health & Human Services Committee. She was also a member of the Legislative Budget Board, the Legislative Audit Committee and the Privacy Protection Advisory Council.

In addition to writing four balanced state budgets, Nelson has a long list of accomplishments, including establishing the Cancer Research & Prevention Institute of Texas (CPRIT), reforming medical liability, achieving tax relief, overhauling the foster care system, expanding access to mental health care, and passing over 30 bills to protect victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking.

Her work has been recognized with dozens of awards, including from the American Medical Association, American Cancer Society, Texas Association of Business, Texas Council on Family Violence, CASA, Texas Hospital Association, Big Brothers & Big Sisters, Texas PTA, Texas Retired Teachers Association, the Women’s Health Coalition and many others. She has a 100% voting record in support of Texas small businesses.

Nelson and her husband, J. Michael Nelson, owned and operated an aircraft component manufacturing company in Denton County. They have five children and 12 grandchildren.